Between the River and Me
by awtr101fan
Summary: Fulton story based on a Tim McGraw song. It's a bad summary but the story might read better. Third and final chapter up. Lyrics are included in this one.
1. The worst day of my life

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Mighty Ducks, especially Fulton. He, and the rest of the Ducks, belong to Disney. Enjoy :0)**

**Author's Note: Thoughts and flashbacks will be in italics.**

* * *

Between the River and Me – Chapter One

* * *

The people gathered in the cemetery on a summer afternoon. A tall boy with dark brown hair and deep chocolate eyes stood stoically holding his mother to his chest. She had been crying non-stop. She had been doing that for days now.

At one point he had cried to, but he did it in private. Men weren't supposed to cry. It was a sign of weakness.

'_C'mon Reed. Toughen up. You gotta be strong for her.'_

"…as I walk in the valley of the shadow of death…"

He tuned out the preacher. He tuned out his friends that were giving him comfort. He tuned out the whole thing.

"Fulton honey. It's time to go."

"Okay Mom." He bent down and gathered some dirt in his hands and let it fall into the grave. "Bye Pop. We'll miss you."

He whispered something to his mother before leading his mother away down the path to the car where a couple of his friends were waiting for them.

"I'll be back."

He walked back to his father's tomb alone.

"I'll do my best to take care of her. I love ya old man."

A single tear slipped as he turned the other way.

* * *

Later at the house, people were coming up to them with sympathetic looks and kind words. The three young girls, two blonde and one brunette, were hovering over the older woman.

"Mrs. Reed, is there anything you need?" Julie Gaffney spoke up.

"You look tired. Maybe you should lie down."

She, along with Connie Moreau, had helped her up from her seat on the couch and led her to her room for some much needed rest. Tammy Duncan stayed behind.

"Hey, how you holding up?" she asked the young boy sitting next to the spot vacated by his mother. "Have you eaten today?"

She held a plate of food in her hand, which she placed down on the coffee table. It was meant for his mother. There was a concerned look plastered on her face.

"Fulton,"

There was no chance she could finish what she wanted to say. He buried his face in her shoulder and wept like he hadn't in years.

"Shush baby. It's okay." She stroked his hair. "Just let it out Fulton. I'm here baby."

After a while the tears stopped long enough for Fulton to compose himself. He looked up into Tammy's eyes. There was something that he didn't recognize. Was it pity?

"Can we take a walk?"

She nodded and they left the house.

"Thanks. For that back there."

"It's okay. You've been through a lot. The both of you have."

'_Way to go Duncan! Put your foot in your mouth!'_

"I'm sorry. I should just stop talking. If you want, we can just sit down somewhere and you don't have to talk if you don't want to."

He gave her a small sad smile.

"It's okay Tam. You didn't mean to put your foot in your mouth. You were just stating the obvious."

'_If anyone knows what me and Ma went through, it would be her.'_

Fulton just stared into the distance and Tammy was there to hold his hand through it.

* * *

_The rink was quiet. Practice wouldn't be starting for an hour or two. There was a lone figure in the middle of the ice. She was messing around, practicing some figure skating moves. Then the doors opened and the person she was waiting for came into the rink._

"_Hey you. My brother gave me the message. What's up?"_

_A tall boy sat on a bench near the ice. The blonde came to sit next to him._

"_I needed someone to talk to. I didn't know who else to go to."_

_His hands were shaking. She knew something had to be wrong because his hands only did this when he was worried or scared._

"_Whatever it is, you can tell me." she said stroking the side of his face. "Just let it out."_

"_He's dying Tam. My old man is sick with cancer and I'm gonna lose him."_

_Tears started running down his face. It hurt Tammy to see the boy she loved look so broken._

"_It'll be okay Fulton. You have to believe that. Okay? Even when it looks like it won't."_

_She held him until his sobbing stopped and he fell asleep in her embrace._The two teenagers sat in silence for awhile, both with unshed tears. His were for his father. Hers were for him and the pain that was trying like Hell to kill his spirit.

* * *

"It's okay to cry Fulton. You don't have to hide the tears. I'm sure that if the shoe was on the other foot then I'm pretty sure your dad would be crying buckets by now."

This brought a smile to his lips.

"See, that's why I love you Tams. Thank you."

"For what?"

"For being here and for helping me make him happy. He told me one night that you took a load off his shoulders."

It was now her turn to smile. The memory was bittersweet but Tammy knew what Fulton meant by his statement.

"He was worried that the day wouldn't come where he could see you loved by someone who wasn't your mom. He wanted to make sure you had someone that you could have a future with."

* * *

_The hospital room looked sad. The situation looked sad. One of her best friends was here day in and day out because they wanted to spend as much time as possible with one of the people they loved most. How could she not be here to support him and his family? But was it just out of friendship that she was here? Or was it something more?_

"_Tamara? Is that you sweetheart?"_

_The voice sounded so weak, so helpless. Tammy had to restrain herself from breaking down in front of the person sitting n bed._

"_Yeah mister Reed. It's me. How are you feeling today?"_

_She placed the flowers on the bedside table. The chair by the bed was empty although it was usually occupied by either Mrs. Reed or Fulton himself._

"_I can't complain. Today's a good day."_

"_That's good news right? Maybe that's a sign that the medicine's doing what it's supposed to do."_

_Tamara Duncan was an optimistically hopeful girl._

"_Tammy, I have to ask you something."_

"_Go ahead. I'll try and give you the best answer depending on the question."_

"_Are you in love with my boy?"_

"_I…I am Very much so."_

_This brought peace of mind to the ailing man._

"_Do you think that he might be in love with you?"_

_The young girl blushed._

"_I don't know."_

"_I'm worried that he won't have anyone to look after him. I know that he'll have his mother. But motherly affection will only take him so far." He paused to take in more oxygen from the respirator. "I want to make sure that if I don't make it, if I don't beat this damned cancer, that Fulton will have someone that he can hope to grow old with. Someone that he'll spend the rest of his life with. Children, grandchildren. My boy deserves to have a good family with the woman he loves."_

"_Every parent wants that for their kids."_

"_But I have a feeling that I won't live to see it. I know the doctors are hopeful about my prognosis. But I want to put things in order just in case. You know?" She nodded in acknowledgment. "So tell him how you feel. And if he feels the same way, make the most of it."_"I miss him so much. It hasn't even been a whole week. But it just hurts so much."

* * *

He laid his head in her lap and pulled up his feet so that he was laying semi-fetal position.

"It's okay to miss him. It's just one more way of showing how much you loved you dad." She said while running her fingers through his hair. "I'm gonna miss him too. Too bad he won't get to meet his grandkids."

"He told me that he dreamed with them the other night. The docs said that it was the morphine but I know he was all there when he said it."

The tears came falling again. And they never stopped.

* * *

**Author's Note: I was originally going to make this a one-shot but since this story is based on a particular song there has to be more. And besides, this chapter took on a life of its own from what I originally planned. Hope you all liked it. I'll try to update as soon as possible.**


	2. Reflecting on Then & Now

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Mighty Ducks, especially Fulton. He, and the rest of the Ducks, belong to Disney.**

**Author's Note: Here's the next chapter. Sorry if the chapter was a little shorter than the last. Just wanted to get something posted while I was inspired. Enjoy :0) Any flashbacks in this chapter are in italics and are third person pov while the present is from Fulton's pov.**

* * *

Between the River and Me – Chapter Two

* * *

It's been two years since my dad passed away. I'm still going to school at Eden Hall and playing hockey for the Ducks. I've been working the past couple of summers at Jan's Sports Shop, thanks to Coach Bombay.

That man really has been a lifesaver. When me and my mom couldn't pay all the bills from the hospital, we got a letter saying that an anonymous source paid whatever was left. And let me tell you, that was a big ass load of money to pay up.

And my friends have really been a great lifeline for me. They were there when I really needed them. People say that you find out who your friends truly are when you're sick, have money and health problems or are in jail. I was lucky to have the Ducks. And I was more lucky to have Tammy in my life.

Tammy...now she's a different story. Tammy and I started out as friends. Then again, most couples always start out that way. But I realized shortly into our friendship that I liked her as more than a friend.

I was too shy to talk to her once I noticed her as more than a friend. We were only ten or eleven when we met. Then she moved a year after we beat the Hawks in Pew Wees. But we reconnected at the Junior Goodwill Games where her mom was making her compete in figure skating. Luckily she was able to move back here for high school. Turns out she went to Eden Hall on an academic scholarship when we got our hockey scholarships.

Anyway, we finally admitted our feelings for each other right after my old man got sick. She was there to hold my hand through it, practically the only person to see me crying like a baby when I couldn't handle things.

* * *

_The sun was setting. The pond looked really pretty with all those colors reflecting off it._

"_Fulton. Baby, is everything alright?"_

_Her voice was soft but at the same time it was comforting. She was cautious in approaching the young man sitting on the bench facing the water._

"_I'm as okay as can be expected. My pop is laid up in a hospital bed when he should be at home with us."_

_The tone in Fulton's voice was indescribable. There were so many feelings behind it. Maybe that's why it couldn't be described to a specific emotion._

"_Mom keeps going to church like the good Irish girl that she is. Thinks that praying will help." He paused thinking for a moment. "Guess it's just her way of coping."_

_Tammy Duncan sat down next to her boyfriend. The look on his face was one that sadden hers. His eyes bore so much hurt, longing. There was also a fear he had never shown before in the depths of the chocolate orbs. And it appeared as if he hadn't slept in days._

"_Let's go to the tree house. We can talk better there."_

_Fulton knew what she meant. It was her way of telling him that he could cry out his frustration without anyone looking at him, without being judged._

_He knew that Tammy would never judge him for expressing his feelings. She would never make fun of him. And she would never pity him either._

_She understood him, whether he said anything or not. That was one of the many reasons why he loved her._It's been a hard time without the old man. I still can't believe he's been gone practically two whole years. His anniversary is in a couple of days. Ma and me go to mass every year. I still say that's how she gets through it. I swear, between cleaning office buildings during the day and working a shift at Mickey's Dining Car she's running herself into the ground. I'm worried about her but she won't let me help her.

* * *

_The front door to the little house squeaked as it opened._

"_You're home late. Long night at the diner?"_

"_Fulton Reed! Do not scare me like that!"_

_Jasmine Reed turned to face her teenage son. She dropped a pair of tennis shoes by the door and hung her keys on the nearby hook._

"_Did Charlie walk you home? It was his turn tonight?"_

_He and one of his best friends, Charlie Conway, both had moms that worked the night shift at the diner in question. They often took turns walking the mothers home._

"_Yes he did. Said to tell you that the team misses you at the dorms. Said they'd come visit you tomorrow or Sunday after mass."_

"_Sounds good. Maybe you should lay down on the coach. I'll make you something to eat."_

_He went into the kitchen to make a cup of tea while he could think of what to cook for his mom. When he went back to the living room, she was already fast asleep on the couch._

"_C'mon sleeping beauty. Let's put you to sleep in a more comfortable place."_

_He set down the cup on the table and gently picked her up. After a couple of minutes, he was putting his mom in her bed and pulling the blankets over her._

"_Good night Ma." he said kissing her forehead. "Sweet dreams."_Speaking of my mom, time for me to pick her and Casey Conway up from the diner.


	3. The Things That Changed Us

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Mighty Ducks, especially Fulton. He, and the rest of the Ducks, belong to Disney. I don't own the song. It belongs to Tim McGraw (who sings it) and Brad Warren and Brett Beavers (who wrote it).**

**Author's Note: This story originally came to me while I was listening to the cd in my brother's truck. It's a good song. I have to warn you that this chapter might be somewhat violent considering the nature of the song. If you haven't heard it, I highly recommend it since it's one of the best songs on the album. Song lyrics and flashbacks are in italics. Enjoy :0)**

* * *

Between the River and Me – Chapter Three

* * *

The bell above the diner's door chimed as people came in. It was a busy shift for anyone working there.

* * *

_I was fifteen when my daddy died,_

_Momma worked two jobs just to get by_Another year had passed on since Jasmine Reed, one of the few waitresses, lost her husband to cancer. She had been working there as well as keeping the other job she had. Money was still a little tight. But now that her almost-18-year-old son Fulton was back in the dorms at his school things were beginning to get a little easier. Jasmine missed her husband terribly but, as anyone in her situation would, she got awfully lonely.

* * *

A couple guys who were regulars would ask her out for coffee once in a while. But Jasmine would always say no. She didn't feel right about dating one of her customers. That was the line she always fed them.

But the story changed one day when one of them who hadn't come to the diner in a few months came along.

Harley. His name was Harley and he couldn't take his eyes off Jasmine while she took his order.

"Is there anything else I can get you?" she asked him after bringing him the plate of food.

"Yeah," he said. "Another cup of coffee, the check and your phone number."

He flirted shamelessly. And it didn't matter to him that she still wore her wedding band. Maybe it was because it was common knowledge that Jasmine was a widow. A very attractive widow.

"I don't know." She said walking away. "I don't think it's a good idea."

But somehow Harley managed to weasel the phone number out of her. And so they started dating.

* * *

_It seemed like a blessing when Harley came around,  
So she took his name but I had my doubts._After six months of dating, the two were married, much to Fulton's dismay.

* * *

"Mom, it's not that I don't like him." Fulton tried explaining one afternoon. "There's just something about him that rubs me the wrong way. Like a gut feeling or something."

There wasn't much to Harley. He made a good living. The job made him enough money that Jasmine could quit one of her jobs. She didn't really like working in the office much. So the diner was the job she kept. There was even enough money that the couple could afford a better apartment or rent a house if they wanted.

This didn't matter to Fulton. There were only two things that mattered to him. His mother's happiness was one of them. Her safety was the other.

* * *

_It didn't take long for his drinking ways  
To start showin' up on Momma's face_Sure enough, his suspicions were confirmed. One day Fulton and his girlfriend Tammy Duncan came to visit Jasmine while Harley was getting ready to go on a business trip.

* * *

"Hi kids. How are you two?" she said giving each of them a kiss on the cheek. "How are things at school?"

The two teenagers looked worried when they saw something pasty on the left side of Jasmine's mouth. It was make-up that she was using to try and hide a bruise although she didn't do a very good job at it.

"Mom, what happened to your lip?"

She panicked.

"It's nothing sweetie. A can fell out of the pantry. I didn't catch it in time."

Tammy didn't know if she should believe the woman who bore the man she loved. Jasmine was like family to her. And the fact that she was trying to hide something worried her more.

It turns out that Harley had a couple of drinks after work the night before and came home three sheets to the wind. When he felt bothered by his wife who was trying to take care of him in his inebriated state, he lashed out. All it took was one swift slap to the face to cut the corner of her pretty little lips. But she wasn't counting on the visit the next day. If she had known then she would've tried better while covering it.

* * *

_One violent night hiding under my bed  
I swore that he'd never see another sunset_Things did not go better for Jasmine. As the weeks went by, Harley showed his true colors even more. Fulton was so worried for his mother's safety that he moved back home for awhile even though it was the middle of senior year. When Jasmine and Harley questioned his motives, the boy said it was because he missed his mother too much. It was true, but that was the best thing he could say without letting his step-father know he knew something was wrong.

* * *

No one knew what he was really up to except for his roommate Dean Portman and Tammy. She was actually the one to suggest that he go home.

"_I have this feeling that you should be with your mom. I didn't like the way she was all jumpy when we noticed her lip that one time."_

"_You're right baby. I just hope this all works."_

"_Yo man, didn't you say that the dude was drinking a lot more? That doesn't sound good. If you want, I know people who can check him out without him knowing."_

_Fulton appreciate what Portman was trying to do._

"_No man. It's okay. I need to do this on my own." He told him. "The less people involved, the less people hurt. That means you too Tams."_

Tammy was worried about Fulton. But she was also worried about his mom.

A month after he moved back in, Fulton noticed just how much Harley drank. He also noticed what exactly he drank and when. Every night, Harley would come home drunker than the night before. Then one of those nights, Harley did something that Fulton didn't expect. He laid a hand on him. In all the years that Fulton's dad was alive, he'd never been hit. But that one hit was enough to prove himself right about his step-dad. Jasmine made Fulton leave so that Harley wouldn't hit him again.

"No way Ma. I won't leave you."

"Go, do as I say. Run. Now."

Fulton didn't know what to do. He opened the window to leave but the noise he heard wouldn't let him crawl out of the house.

"Harley, please stop! You're hurting me!"

The pain in her voice was enough to get him to stay. He had to get her out of there. But she told him to leave.

The only thing he could think of was getting under the bed in his room while Harley kept hurting Jasmine.

'_Just wait till it's over or till he passes out. Then grab her and get out.'_

Fulton kept telling himself that until the noise stopped. When it was over Harley was gone. This was their chance.

Fulton wandered out of his room. The sight before him sickened him. His mother laid helplessly on the floor. Bruises and cuts were all over her. She was conscious but in shock.

"The hospital. I gotta get you to a doctor Ma."

He picked up the phone. His fingers dialed a number he knew from memory.

"What?!" the voice on the other end sounded irritated.

"Portman, it's me. I need you to get your car over here fast. I gotta get my Ma to the hospital."

"What happened? I'm on my way man."

"Thanks. I'll tell you on the way over."

He hung up the phone.

"That bastard is a dead man."

* * *

_Next day I followed him down to the river bank  
I knew one of us wouldn't walk away_Fulton knew where that prick went when he wanted to get drunk. He always went to one of two places. One was the bar. The other was the river leading towards the lake. He didn't always go down there to drink though. Sometimes he went there just to think or be alone. He wouldn't doubt it if his step-dad had a girl on the side that he took to his stomping grounds. And Fulton didn't really care about that. He had one mission for finding the bastard there. He was going to pay for what he did to Jasmine. He was going to pay for the lies and the tears and the scares he left on her whether they were physical or mental or emotional. He was going down. He'd find a way to make him leave town.

* * *

_I mighta had a plan but he didn't know it  
I mighta been scared but I didn't show it  
That's all between the river and me  
With the current and the rocks it could have been risky_There was this part of the riverbank where you could fish on a good day.

* * *

'_Probably somewhere me and my old man would've gone. But the lake was better. More fish out there.'_

Now was not the time for reminiscing. It was time to focus.

* * *

_He might have been sober but I brought the whiskey  
And that's all between the river and me_He saw Harley getting ready to search for his stash of booze. But he didn't find it. This was the best chance to make a move.

* * *

_I walked up to him and I said his name  
Just so he could see the look on my face_Carefully sneaking up behind that SOB was easy. He didn't even hear Fulton as he came closer. Not till the boy was right in back of him.

* * *

"Harley."

The look he saw on the younger man's face when he turned around was one he wasn't expecting. Ironically, he wasn't afraid of it either.

* * *

_We stood eye to eye and toe to toe  
When I told him that he wasn't gonna come back home_"What are you doing here you brat?"

* * *

"Came to make sure you never touch my mother again. You are a sadistic sick man. And there is no way in Hell that you are going back home."

* * *

_He raised his fist to me but I didn't flinch  
I said "I ain't your son you son of a bitch"_Fulton was feeling brave. Maybe just a little too brave for his own good. That's when Harley tried to fight him. A fist to his left eye was all it took for Fulton to stop him.

* * *

"Look son, I don't wanna have to teach you a lesson like I had to teach your mother."  
"Don't call me that. I'm not you son you lousy son of a bitch."

* * *

_I mighta had a knife in my back pocket  
I mighta pulled it out before he saw it  
But that's all between the river and me_Fulton's father taught him how to defend him at a young age. It was necessary for the tough neighborhood they lived in. Even got him a small switchblade to use in case of an emergency.

* * *

'_I don't wanna have to use it. but better to have it hidden in my hand while I punch the douche bag.'_

A couple of swift punches to Harley's midsection and Fulton had the upper hand for a few minutes.

* * *

_I mighta had a gun but I didn't fire it_"Boy, I don't wanna have to beat you to death. But you're asking for it."

* * *

Harley lunged for him but being the younger one in the brawl he was able to move quicker. That's when Harley fell into the water.

* * *

_He mighta tried to yell but I kept him quiet  
That's all between the river and me  
That's all between the river and me_"You thought you were so tough. Think that just cause you beat your wife, beat her kid that you're a real man."

* * *

All the years of playing hockey, being a Bash Brother, had given him a lot of physical strength. He was able to hold Harley down long enough to fish out the bottle of Jack Daniel's from his jean jacket.

"Is this what you were looking for you sick bastard? Is this what you wanted?"

With one knee on his step-father's chest while the foot of his other leg was flat on the riverbank, Fulton held him down while he tried to open the bottle.

"Damn you. You wanted this liquor. Now hold still or I'll make you."

Harley would just love to see that happen.

"Try it. See what happens."

Fulton put the bottle down and grabbed Harley by the shirt.

"Don't piss me off any more than I already am."

Then he punched him again. Once he got the bottle open he forced it into Harley's mouth.

Once the bottle was more than half empty, Harley started getting feisty again. He tried getting a few more swings in when Fulton laid one last punch into him. He fell in the water again. He tried getting back up but Fulton held him down.

He wasn't trying to kill the bastard, just trying to hold him down long enough to keep him from getting up and hitting him again. Before he knew what was happening, Harley stopped moving completely. He was dead. And Fulton had Harley's blood on his hands.

'But it was self defense. He was drunk and trying to beat me to death.'

* * *

_The sheriff came knockin' on our front door  
Said they found his body by the reservoir  
Bottle in his shirt, liquor in his blood  
Mus have fallen in the river and he never came up_The police came to inform Jasmine and Fulton of Harley's death a day or two later. They showed up at the house just as the kids were bringing her home from the hospital where all three kept a watchful eye on her.

* * *

"_Fulton, where have you been?" Tammy asked him the day of the incident. "You're all bloody."_

"_Just had a run-in with the apehole is all." He said kissing her. "Nothing to worry about baby."_

"_Now?"_

"_Earlier. Words were said. Punches were thrown. I went home and he went to one of his watering holes."_  
If he hadn't had a bag with Jasmine's things in his hand, Tammy might not have believed him. And she wanted to believe him, even if something told her that all was not right with her boyfriend.

* * *

_Might've been blood but they never saw it  
Just a little mud on the living room carpet  
That's all between the river and me_That explanation was the only thing that kept all suspicions off him. At least that's what he thought.

* * *

"Hey Fult." Portman was trying to get his attention when they were cleaning up the living room while Tammy took Jasmine to her bedroom. "I'd understand if it the SOB didn't really drown by himself."

Fulton's head snapped up.

"What?"

"In fact, I would've done it myself if the shoe was on the other foot. Luckily the cops didn't see that tiny patch of blood on the doorjamb. They woulld've caught that if they had paid attention to the mud all over the carpet. They'd just figure it was always like that. But a blood stain, different story bro."

A panicked look settled into Fulton's dark chocolate orbs.

"Don't worry man. Our little secret. I'll even clean it up for you. Can't help if you were just trying to protect your Moms. Maybe even yourself."

* * *

_After what he did, no, there ain't no wonder  
Can't remember how long I held him under  
That's all between the river and me  
That's all between the river and me_"Thanks man."

* * *

"What are Bash Brothers for?"

* * *

_Yeeaah, that's all between the river and me  
That's all, that's all._**Okay, that's the end of the story. Hope you all liked it. Lyrics courtesy of Lyrics on Demand.**


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